The Elephant Story working Title!
by Adrienne LaVerne
Summary: Duo, an archaeologist, visits the home of his ancestors and digs up some ghosts of the past... 2x1x2 some yaoi in later chapters
1. Prologue

Righty ho… AU 2x1, Duo the archaeologist and Heero… well you'll see It needs a name though… Ideas on a postcard or sealed envelope please X

Disclaimer: I do not own the GW boys, more's the pity. However, I do own the elephant, if only in my mind.

Warnings: There will be yaoi, although probably only of the WAFF type, I haven't decided yet. If it changes, I'll write it in big bold letters, no worries. So far no age restrictions though.

--ooOoo--

**Unnamed…The Elephant story**

Prologue

The Maxwell family had once been a wealthy family, owning land in the south of England that stretched as far as the eye could see from the house, and rubbing shoulders with the most important people in England. The last Lord Maxwell was a trusted adviser to Queen Victoria, and it was on her wishes that he and his family travelled to India, to maintain control over a small area in the north east of the country that had kept its Raja. The first few years passed like a dream. Lord and Lady Maxwell and their youngest son, the only not yet old enough to go to university, lived happily in a comfortable house in the grounds of the young Raja's lush palace.

However, suddenly, during their fifth summer in India, disaster struck. In the middle of the night, the Raja disappeared, his belongings untouched. Also vanished was the young Maxwell, and the favourite rumour was that he had murdered the Raja in order to allow his father to seize control of the principality, and he had then disappeared in his fear. Since the searches made by the army in the surrounding villages proved fruitless, this was generally accepted as the official turn of events, and the Maxwells left India in shame, to set up a new, low profile existence in America.

--ooOoo--

Duo Maxwell, the only descendant of this family, was an archaeologist. He loved his work and excelled in it, it filled his free time as well. A charismatic celebrity, he still found it hard to form close bonds with people. Truly, aside from a childhood friend, his soul companions were the members of his team; the theologian and the son of a renowned museum curator.

Currently, Duo was preparing for possibly the most important dig of his life. South of the Himalayas, a small Buddhist shrine, dating from the 5th Century, but missing from all records after the middle of the 1800's, had finally been traced. What made it so important though was the fact that it was very close to the area the Maxwells had once lived in. For Duo, this was a pilgrimage also, something he felt compelled to do, visiting the graves of ancestors.

--ooOoo--

Well? I know it doesn't mean much at the moment, but it will. Just wait for the elephant. Screw Duo and Heero, I'm lusting after that thing make me happy – R&R

LaVerne x


	2. Глава Один

Disclaimer: I do not own the GW boys, more's the pity. However, I do own the elephant, if only in my mind.

Warnings: There will be yaoi, although probably only of the WAFF type, I haven't decided yet. If it changes, I'll write it in big bold letters, no worries. So far no age restrictions though.

Chapter 1

Things were already not going according to plan. Just two days before the he was to set off for India, Duo's manager and best friend, Quatre Winner, got a call through saying that they wouldn't be the first to the site.

'It's some guy who says he needs to be there,' Quatre said with his hand over the mouthpiece, 'yes… oh of course, I'm sure he will… mmm, mmhmm… oh ok then, if you're sure, nice talking to you, Mr… ah, Mr Yuy, of course. We will be arriving within the next week.' He hung up the phone, smiling. 'it's ok, no need to look so stroppy. I've never heard of the man, so he's not going to steal your spotlight, and he said something about a family curse, so he's probably not even an actual archaeologist.' He grinned at the look of horror; the mere thought of some rookie rooting around in the very valuable artefacts was more than Duo could stand. 'Hey, chill out – he promised not to go near anything until we arrived.' As always, Quatre's words had a quieting effect on his friend.

The journey passed like a dream, it always did, and the locals were friendly towards them, they always were, and Duo began to expect that this was going to be just an average dig, nothing special, regardless of where he was. The shrine was a two day hike from the village that they had started from that morning, and they stopped for the overnight in a large clearing near a lake.

Near the clearing were some caves, and as soon as camp was set up and Quatre started subtly bossing people around, in the way that he did without making it seem anything more than a suggestion that you just had to do, Duo dived off to explore.

How lucky he was to have a friend like Quatre, Duo contemplated. The small Arabian man was so quiet and softly spoken, looking at him brought images of angels and cherubs on fluffy white clouds, you physically couldn't imagine him doing any wrong. This made him an excellent businessman. The two had been travelling together since time immemorial, and were like brothers.

He was creeping through, trying not to disturb any of the echoing quiet that these places possessed, when he saw it. A skeleton was sitting against a wall, in a foetal position, its limbs and ribs forming a cage protecting something. He called out, before running back to camp for some equipment. One thing about him that you either loved or hated was his stubborn need to do things his way. This was the case now, as people just beginning to relax for the evening were suddenly called upon to dig through bags and stores looking for things, because he simply couldn't leave the body where it was.

When he and Quatre took the full beam torches back up along with the other things to look, three things became instantly obvious:

The body was very old, but the person wasn't. He guessed that the person would have been under 25, although this was more the area of expertise of Trowa, whose father had been curator of the Natural History Museum for thirty years, and who had an unhealthy fixation with death, born from a childhood spent among skeletons and ancient mummies.

Aside from the rough age, it was impossible to tell much like this. It had been resting there for a very long time though – any trace that it was there nearer the mouth of the cave was long gone, and the whole thing was covered in a thick layer of dust. The body was that of someone wealthy – scattered around were random jewels and gold rings, evidently body jewellery that had fallen out as the flesh rotted away to nothing. It was untouched – this must have been here at least 100 years, and yet the joints still held some semblance of what they were, you could still make out the knees curled up, arms wrapped around, in desperate protection of what it was hiding.

And what WAS it hiding? As they took the body apart and bagged it, piece by piece, it revealed itself to be a magnificent carved elephant A/N – YAY!. It was beautiful, a deep rich black colour, with a gold rug across its back and jewel encrusted gold over the litter on its back. Inside the litter sat two very perfectly carved people, a man and a woman, looking at the long curtain down one's back. He gave his own long hair a pull and smiled; this piece dated back to the early Victorian period – he doubted there were many guys with hair like his then.

He put his hand out to brush a spec of dust that had caught in the corner of the elephant's eye. As his finger lightly brushed the ornament, he was suddenly flooded with a strange emotion, more powerful than anything he had ever experienced in his life. He felt joyful and excited and enthusiastic, totally in love and that warm, mushy feeling when you know someone feels the same way about you, his mind floated away and he was light headed, truly feeling the expression 'on cloud nine'. And yet in the same instant he felt anger, loss, betrayal, and an utter lack of hope, an aching depression that ripped through his body and soul, the bottom of his stomach falling through and he was falling too, tumbling through the air, in utter terror, as an icy wind whipped around his heart. Duo had never had more than the casual flings in his life, and such an unexplainable rush of emotion staggered him for a second.

He recovered, and looked at the elephant with a strangely renewed interest. 'What odd eyes it has' he thought to himself, as he looked, one was clearly an amethyst, hell, he knew that colour well enough, the amount of hopelessly unoriginal girls who had compared his own eyes to the lavender blue gemstone, but the other was a dark rich blue…Sapphire, he thought. He picked up the elephant again, bracing himself for the emotional rush he was expecting, to put it in a bag, inside a padded box.

'Ai shiteru' he muttered, the words flowing through his mind from nowhere.

'…hmm?' asked Quatre, distracted with overseeing the labelling of bags. Duo had completely forgotten about his friend's presence, with his enthrallment with the elephant.

'I don't know, it just came into my head. I must have heard it in the village or something.'

--ooOoo--

That night, Duo couldn't stop thinking about the elephant, the fact that it had made him feel so powerfully, that it had made him feel at all. He tossed and turned for hours before sleep found him, and when it did, it was dream filled…

I am sitting on a veranda somewhere, a boy across from me, perhaps about 15 years old, and a table laid for tea between us. The boy is stunning to look at, well dressed in white linen, with dark messy hair framing his face. There's something about him that's not quite right though, he's not Indian, although I'm certain he's _meant_ to be, but he's not, he can't be. But his eyes! They are the most incredible things I have ever seen. As far as a basic description goes, they're blue, which is striking enough in the Asian face, but what a shade of blue. They seem to draw light from around them with a hunger, as if they take nourishment from seeing. I'm staring at them openly, I've been sucked in, enchanted, but I don't care. They are ice cold and stern, and yet you could melt in them easily, if you let yourself fall under their spell. They sparkle with life, and seem to trap you; I can't help but follow them, to see what could entice them to hold their gaze on one object for any amount of time, and to feel jealousy burning me inside that it's not ME that entrances them so.

That was something peculiar for Duo's dreams too – he was totally conscious, and yet couldn't move. It was kind of like watching a movie, in first person, a memory almost.

I realize that the boy is speaking to me in French at the same time I realize I understand and am replying. What's up with my voice? It's so high pitched again, compared to what it sounds like to me. When I lift the teacup again and gaze into the depths, I can see myself. But it's not me, specifically. It's me how I was 10 years ago, when I was sixteen. No one around seems to understand what we say – they're all either servants or what look like Indian soldiers, dressed in the uniform they wore during the time of the British occupation. The time my family was out here. Suddenly I decide it might be an idea to listen to the boy opposite, he might know something of the Raja, of how to find him, to find out what happened to him.

'Did I tell you the story of my father?' the boy asks me.

'He died of malaria,' I hear myself reply in this alien voice.

'No, my real father! He was a Japanese man, a Buddhist on his way to visit a shrine near here. My mother had an affair with him, and fell pregnant. My official father agreed to cover for her since he truly loved her. And he did; even if people notice anything they still don't mention it, they don't dare now and they didn't then, when he was Raja.' So, _this _was my Raja, eh? I must admit I was expecting someone a bit more aloof, to say the least; he's merely a child. But at least he's pretty. the cotton shirt is thin, and beneath it I can make out the outlines of a muscular but slim body, obviously a cricket player in his spare time, straight away I pick up on the strong forearms. I noticed from the beginning that I was feeling warm to him, that he's obviously my friend, and I trust him. Is this just my dream warping my mind? I don't know him. But the person I am does…

The sharp trill of the alarm clock roused Duo from what turned out to be a very deep sleep. His first thoughts flew to the elephant, and he leapt out of bed with energy unheard of for this time in the morning. But he couldn't look at it yet, couldn't go near it, couldn't touch it and get that hit of emotion that was like a drug to him. He insisted that they trekked back down to the village, to put the bones and the elephant into storage somewhere safe. He wouldn't be dissuaded, even by Quatre, and nine o'clock that night found them finally reaching the village, slapping bugs from their necks and picking sweat soaked clothes from their backs. They simply collapsed as soon as possible; it had been a hard hike for them as they got further and further away from the temple. As soon as Duo closed his eyes, the dream pounced on him, not even waiting for him to be properly asleep.

--ooOoo—

So there we go. As always, mucho gracias for feedback

LaVerne x


	3. Глава Два

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own them, but I'm working on it…

Next chapter, and they're getting progressively harder. Still I shall carry on, for the good of mankind.

Warning: Some shōnen-ai this chapter, but only your PG-13 make out stuff.

Chapter 2

We're riding through the jungle. Horseback, just the two of us and a couple of servants. Hunting, judging by the guns they're holding. I'm holding. Talking English too, I guess that there's no way the servants could understand us.

'There's a lake just over there, fancy a swim?' The Raja, whose name still eluded me, makes the suggestion.

'Sure. I have an idea,' I reply, feeling my face muscles twitch into my trademark wicked grin, completely of their own accord. 'TIGER!' I fire off a couple of shots. 'I got it! Over there! You two, don't come back without it!' The raja quickly translates for them, those chokingly beautiful eyes flashing me a smile, and yet his mouth remaining serious as he yells at them, gesturing wildly in some far off direction.

We tie the horses to a tree branch and tear our clothes off, before leaping into the water. You can't feel in dreams, but I swear I can feel the gasping cold around my feet, the burning sunshine on the top of my head. And I feel love for this boy, practically a stranger to my mind. He who seems to have me laughing with only words, or equally easily crying, and who could have made me beg with a mere glance, I'm totally under his spell.

He pulls himself up onto a rock that is jutting out, and lies back in the sunshine, clothed in only a pair of clinging linen shorts. I stay where I am, covertly stealing glances of him – the strong, powerful shoulders and chest, the sinewy lower arms that change form as he tensed them, pulling himself over to dangle his fingertips in the water. And those legs, perfectly sculpted in every way, not yet obscured by the dark layer of hair that age threatens to bring.

I swim around to the side of the rock where his arm hangs down; the side he was facing, eyes closed, and flick water at him, catching his face, making the dark skin glisten again. He opened his eyes and made a grab for me. I thought I was safe, but he caught my braid. My braid! Even in this unknown body I had it? Turning, I grasped his wrist, trying to break his grip. With ease, he drew me out of the water to about waist depth, so we were on eye level. 'Hey!' I cried out. Inside my mind I was panicking, screaming in my mind and trying desperately to thrash about; I've always detested being under someone's control; but that was no good when I had no control over my actions.

'What's the matter?' he practically purred, those eyes boring into me, to the point where I was sure he could even see me tucked away inside, a little stowaway. Instead of answering, I put my hands out and ran my fingers through his thick dark hair, gently, feeling myself calm down with the action. He smiled at me, the first actual smile I had seen from him so far, and I put my hands to his face.

Suddenly I felt the self control snap; I held his face in my hands and kissed him. I kissed his cheek, the corner of his mouth, and then on his soft lips. That mouth so set in its expression was so soft and giving now beneath my touch. He pulled me up, out of the water and onto the rock with him, my wet skin sliding over him. The hand holding my braid drew my head back down to his and kissed me, I responded to his tongue and my own went on its journey of discovery through this unknown territory. And then it changed, became more urgent, more passionate, as I was wrapped in his arms, leaning over him. I ran my cold hands down his bare, smooth chest, when suddenly the horses whinnied, and we heard feet through the undergrowth. Practically leaping apart, with guilt scrawled all over my already bruised lips, his perfect face the picture of serenity, we swam back to the water's edge, where we'd left our clothes. The servants looked at us, one said something to the other in Swahili, but we were ok. There was nothing wrong with going for a swim, after all.

--ooOoo--

The dreams had become an obsession for Duo. While the other members of the team did what they were best at…storing things, labelling them, verbally describing them for little Dictaphones, he would normally spend his time visiting the surrounding area with Quatre, seeing what there was to see, tasting local cuisines, learning. It was this that duo loved about his job; travelling to the far corners of the Earth, meeting people, feeling that for a few weeks he could be a part of their lives.

Instead, however, he had spend the last two days sitting in front of the elephant, in a dark, heavy canvas tent, with no ground mats and the strong scent of damp musty fabric, writing the dreams down, scribbling maniacally, writing solidly for hours sometimes, every little detail of the dreams that he remembered, at intervals running his finger along the elephant's back, as if he had come to rely on the hit of emotions to get him through the day.

Quatre looked on sadly. He was used to Duo not talking about his feelings; he would much rather shoulder everyone else's burdens for them, but that didn't stop Quatre wishing he WOULD share sometimes. It pained him to see his normally headstrong friend so dependent on something. The look on his face when they took the elephant away, a look like a lost child who's been torn away from his mother in a crowd, almost brought tears to Quatre's eyes. But until Duo spoke, he would remain in the dark.

Duo himself hadn't even noticed the stir he was causing his friend. He had all but forgotten about the dig, and didn't care that he was keeping that man waiting there; he had promised not to touch anything, so there was no hurry.

And tonight he was ready for the dream. Looking at the way one linked to the next, a series of events, he was pretty sure he was going to enjoy tonight's show.

--ooOoo--

Et voilà… Another one. I don't like how short they are, but it's where it wanted to stop. The finished fic will be the same whether it's broken in two places or two dozen places though, and having the need to update lots means I feel good that I'm paying so much attention to it

Review me and I'll love you forever…

LaVerne x


	4. Глава Три

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Warning: None here, but some shōnen-ai in other chapters. PG-13

Chapter 3

A totally unfamiliar surrounding. Sitting on a large cushion, swathed in metres of rich cloth, reds and golds and some blue. Next to me is a man I don't recognise, although I know I should (but why?), and opposite is another man. Neither are as wealthy as me, I guess, comparing our outfits, but both are important. They're talking about a wedding, but whose? They haven't mentioned any names.

I scratch my arm, looking at my hand in the process. Darker, softer skin greets my gaze. Then I am the Raja? I train my attention on what seems to be a thoroughly uninteresting conversation, the business links of marriage, providing an heir, forcing the groom to grow up a bit. At this point, they looked at me pointedly. Me? Marry? But, that's not right, I can't marry! Somewhere, in the deepest recesses of my mind, I remember reading about the Raja's fiancée, a princess from a neighbouring principality, someone he'd never met, and never did meet. And besides, I'm in love with someone else! Duo Maxwell! Well, I AM Duo Maxwell, but this man is in love with the OTHER one! Not some fawning bride and business link!

That was what I had realised; in these dreams I was seeing the world through my ancestor's eyes; the very man who murdered his friend and love, the Raja.

But I can't say any of this of course. The Raja just looks at them and then goes back to looking at his hands, all I can do is watch. That seems as good as a proposal for them. Immediately they start planning, the colour of the silk that would be made in celebration, the number of elephants needed to walk us through my principality to the ceremony, and the date. One month from now. One month of freedom left. I feel the anger bubbling up, threatening to engulf me, as the Raja merely balls his hands into fists behind his back and grits his teeth to the verge of pain, showing no physical signs of the anger and sadness he surely feels.

Suddenly everything goes black. When I regain my vision, I'm deep in conversation with the other Duo Maxwell, explaining the situation, and what we must do.

--ooOoo--

'But I love you!' Duo cries, his simple way of putting things so like my own. This childish confession seems so necessary in the face of such adversity.

'I love you too, and I would be such a terrible husband,' I, the Raja reply.

Looking on from this perspective, I view the situation, and my other self, with the Raja's biased point of view. His impish face holds such emotion, such honest sadness, that it's impossible not to empathise. The violet eyes are shining with tears that I know he won't let fall, not in front of the Raja anyway. 'Duo, do you love me more than anything?'

He balks. 'Yes, I think I do.' Eyes into lap; 'sorry.'

'Would you run away with me?'

Duo gasps '…where could we run?'

'To see the world! I have such riches that I could just grab some of it and it would be enough to set us up until we can earn it somehow. It would be perfect!'

And so they (we?) plan. Three days left of this life that they know. We would meet at a temple on the mountain, a couple of days trek, alone, but it's safer that way than meeting up closer to the village. From there we'll go over the mountain and find somewhere new, a long way away, in the south, where they could live together in peace and happiness.

It's now that I take in my surroundings. We're by the lake again, the same place as before, except now it's late evening, the deadly mosquitoes have descended on us and we could catch malaria if we're not careful.

--ooOoo--

That day they restarted their journey to the temple site. The party was much more subdued than usually at the beginning of a dig, as the singing, out of key and out of time of course, was always lead by Duo. Quatre cast yet another worried look at his friend. He looked tired and pained. He was barely speaking at the moment, except for to snap at people disturbing him, talking to him when he was writing, or just staring at the photos of the elephant, touching them, as if that would make all his troubles go away; troubles which suddenly seemed to have appeared since they arrived in India. No, that wasn't totally right. At the beginning he'd been fine, it was just since he found that elephant.

They arrived at the camp spot without any problems. As soon as everything was set up Duo sat down by the fire and closed his eyes. he wasn't sleeping though, because he was cooking that night, and one arm was stirring the cooking pot constantly, round and round. But his face was relaxing, the little creases in the corners of his eyes, the deeper furrows in his brow, all being ironed out, by whatever image was printed on the inside of his forehead. Quatre grinned as he even saw a small smile curl Duo's lips.

He was right. It was the image in Duo's head that was keeping him going. Since last night the dreams had been so sour, he had been forcing himself to at least attempt to look at everything without feeling so emotional. That had taken concentration, and he'd failed, always ending up thinking of his own failure to find love, how at 26 years of age he'd only ever had one relationship to last more than 6 months, and during that time they'd been living on different continents for 5 months.

Then he'd sat down by the fire, cooking, and let himself doze. His fatigued mind had been doused in darkness, and from the darkness had come a pair of hauntingly soft eyes, set in a harsh face, framed by messy black-brown bangs and resting on a hand, long, elegant fingers on a slender wrist, muscular definition on the lower arm just perfect. He'd smiled.

When he went to bed that night, he did so fearfully. The way he saw it, he lost either way. if anything happened to the boys, anything that would break them apart, then this would just prove for his mind that happily ever afters do not exist, and if they escaped, and never looked back, then it would just highlight the fact that there was something wrong with him – that he had been looking twice as long as this far off uncle, and still hadn't even had a sniff that he was on the right trail. Would it be tonight that he saw the murder of his beautiful Raja?

--ooOoo--

Here we go. I'm not happy with this one though, it's too jerky. I never realised how hard it is to write in first person present before… Love it? Hate it? tell me! I need your comments to survive.

LaVerne x


	5. Глава четыре

Disclaimer: They're not mine, but it's my birthday soon…?

I have made a grave mistake. I switched tenses. I went back and changed it and checked it like 4 times, but it still doesn't flow the same as the first couple of chapters. Meh.

Warnings: small amounts of sh­onen-ai, nothing to lose any sleep over. Overall, PG-13.

--ooOoo--

Chapter 4

A small, dark shop. The smell of a damp fire, and new leather. All around are tools and blocks of stone, gold ingots and huge skins, tanning in tanks. In front of me, a small, wiry Indian man is sitting, a pencil and piece of paper in his hand. On the paper is a picture of an elephant. No, THE elephant. My elephant. All its little details are there, noted down around the edges. Materials: smoked Acacia wood, ivory, gold, assorted crushed gems, 1 amethyst and 1 sapphire round cut, dia. 1cm. The Raja wanders to the paper and lifts up the two sheets underneath. In one hand he holds a full body sketch page of himself, and in the other one of my ancestor. They're shown from various angles, to help the man carve them, I somehow know. Then the Raja removes his ring and points somewhere on the picture, handing it over.

'So you can make the amendments tomorrow?' He asks.

'Yes, sir, for you I can get it finished by tomorrow afternoon, they are only minor adjustments sir.'

The raja nods, apparently pleased with this old man, and left.

Everything goes black.

--ooOoo--

When I come to I'm walking through the same forest I walked through today. All around me is pitch blackness, and I'm constantly tripping and falling, my pockets jangling with every misstep.

Clasped in my arms is the elephant, bigger and heavier than I remember it, its dead weight slipping with the sweat on my hands, sending spasms of cramp up to my elbows. A sudden burst of moonlight shining on the gold reflects back my image, confirming that I am the Raja. Every few steps I look over my shoulder; the Raja seems to sense he's being followed. We're a long way out of the village, very near to the place we camped before. There's a loud CRACK and a flash lights the area. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was a gun.

'Who's there? Who is it?' The fear in the normally expressionless voice scares me.

'The father of the poor girl you were going to marry! You were seen you know, you freak, down at the lake with that good for nothing English boy. How dare you think you can get away with marrying my daughter with that on your conscience? You won't you know! You make me sick, the both of you.' There's another flash, and this time I'm not so lucky. What happened to the law that you can't feel in dreams? I had felt the sun on my skin, felt love unimaginable, and now I was feeling the most terrible agony, as the bullet from the elephant gun ripped through the raja's abdomen. That gorgeous stomach, toned and perfect, would now be a bloody mess, but I'm in too much torture to care, already it's so cold, but for my stomach which burns all the way through; I can trace the route the bullet took with my mind. The raja staggers, the strength needed to keep a person upright having left him.

We're at the clearing. I cry out hoarsely '…Duo, Duo!' and even then the peculiarity of using my last breaths to cry my own name strikes me. I stagger into the cave, to hide from the men, I couldn't say why though; by this point all rational thought has left my conscious, I am left to feel, no more or less than the agony ricocheting around my body, like a pinball bouncing around the table, twisting once or twice for bonus points.

A thought catches in my head, on a rock in the rapids, that rock we had lain on as the raja had first kissed him…it's him that I was thinking of, I hope he's ok, I hope he doesn't think badly of me, that in the morning he will go back home and live out the rest of his life as he would have if the Raja had been anyone else in the world. The raja opens his eyes for a second, and I can we're sitting crouched against the wall of the cave, a little way in. He's squatting with his knees right up to his chest, his arms wrapped around, to brace his now weak neck. The elephant is nestled in the centre, thankfully missed by the bullet.

So this is how it ends then, for my pretty raja. Shot and murdered in the forest by a man supposed to become his father. His eyes waver, opening and closing, the vision swimming so I can barely make out the perfect oval of moonlight at the cave mouth, stained with the blood which was now pooling around him, protecting him like a moat. As the eyes slide out of hazy focus for the last time,

Duo woke up.

It was dark outside still, perhaps about 4am. He lay there very still, listening to the outside, the whirring of moths and mosquitoes, thinking on the dream, the final climax of the lovers' drama. He knew he wasn't going to sleep again, and he got up, sorted his belongings together in an attempt to focus his mind on something else. It failed. In the end he got up and out of his tent completely. He tiptoed through camp, pausing only to check on Quatre, sleeping soundly, breathing softly, before he made his way to the cave. It sounded different now. The quiet was muffled, but didn't echo. Despite the fact that he had removed its only human occupant, it felt more atmospheric now. Like something had been awakened…

Maybe it was just the lake outside, or the pressure, but he was certain he heard a gentle sshhhhhing, through a smiling mouth, as a mother shushes the child who is afraid of the bogeyman, that universally calming, soothing sound. Duo knelt, and then sat down where he had found the raja. He closed his eyes, to be greeted by another pair, cobalt blue in colour, and intense in tone. There he slept, deeply, dreamless, until the sounds of morning awoke him.

--ooOoo--

I'm not happy with it. it took so long this time, considering how much there _isn't_ there… it's because I'm forced to write essays at the moment. Give it a week and it will all clear up nicely

Thankyou to my reviewers so far, support is good. If you're not a reviewer yet, then why not? Ah well, I don't mind, but I'd really, really like it if you did?

LaVerne x


	6. Глава Пять

'Hello, Mr Yuy?... oh, ok, Heero, yes well we've had a bit of a delay, we'll be arriving today though I'm glad to say. Yes, Mr Maxwell is looking forward to speaking to you, he said that your tale of cursed heirlooms sounds VERY interesting,' Quatre shot me an apologetic smile, making small talk with the man on the phone. 'oh, yes I see, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise then! We should be there around lunchtime, but if it's all the same to you, Mr Maxwell does usually like to be by himself for a while first, to get his bearings and such, you understand? … Well yes, we'd love to eat with you, if you're sure? Ok then, but that will just be the three of us... 7 it is then. Bye!'

Duo had zoned out at this point, he had stopped watching where he was going, stopped thinking about anything, wasn't even dreading this little meet and greet, all he saw were they eyes.

'Poor Heero,' Quatre sighed, half sincerely 'he says it was a good thing that we were late really and truly, as he's been so tired recently. Something about some terribly vivid dreams keeping him up.' He shrugged, 'I do hope he's had his malaria shots.'

When they got there, they found that Heero Yuy hadn't even been near the temple. They unlocked the door and stepped through, just Duo and Quatre first of all, to see what state it was in.

The temple was a small dark pagoda style building, made with rich dark wood and red stained walls. All around the inside were statues; an abundance of rich gold, ivory and soapstone creations.

In front of a large statue of the Buddha, was another corpse. This one was lying flat on its back, a knife fallen through between its ribs. Next to it was a dark wood box. The box was well made, hand crafted and still held secure, after at least 300 years. Looking at it though, Duo recognised the hand, the style of craftsmanship, as being that of a certain smith who worked in this area 150 years ago. He opened it eagerly, but cautiously. Inside were several trinkets, a locket and some other jewellery, and a letter. Crumbling away at the corners, the faded and curled writing was barely legible. Duo took it out into the light to read.

16th June 1853

To whoever reads this letter;

The reason it is in your hands is that I have gone ahead with what I am planning right now. I have ended my life, in weakness and cowardice, because I can't take carrying on alone. Some say that loving a person and losing a person you love hurts more than anything, and others say that betrayal hurts most. I am unsure, since I am unable to detangle the two from one another. The person I gave my whole life to the second he asked, the person that I, after just 15 years of life, wanted to spend not a second of the rest of it without, has betrayed me. He left me, ignored me, refused to give up his wealth for his heart. This I can never forgive of him. I curse him and all his descendents, that never shall they keep that wealth or that love until I am avenged.

Sincerely,

William Charles Albert Maxwell VI

Son of William Charles Albert Maxwell V, Lord of Chichester

--ooOoo--

When they walked to Yuy's camp that evening, it was to greet a small affair. Three drab tents stood up around a small fire, but the rich smell of eastern cooking was incredible. There was a serious looking Chinese man crouched by the fire, cooking. A little way off a man was standing with his back to them, talking on the phone in rapid Japanese, dressed in a dark green vest and black cargo shorts. He had a very slender figure, with long legs and a small waist. The back of his head showed scruffy dark brown hair. He hung up, and turned around to greet them.

As he looked to them, Duo gasped. He had a long face with high set cheekbones. He had dark eyebrows, with a distinct arch, and below with an expression of surprise to match Duo's, were a pair of perfectly matched deep sapphire eyes.

--ooOoo--

There we go. It feels rushed. I like it, but I think I'll rewrite it over the summer… Are there any particular parts that need attention? R&R 3

LaVerne x


	7. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING.

The end, I think. I wrote this too quickly though, it's been too much coming at once and I'm bored of it. I'll come back in a month or so and redo it

--ooOoo--

Epilogue

Heero stood and watched the two men on his hands and knees in the mud. They were in England this month, at a Saxon burial mound, found as the foundations were dug for a new shopping mall. It was incredible to watch Trowa in a situation like this, absolutely in his element, unaware of anyone around. He was talking constantly to a small Dictaphone. Heero had only known the man for 4 months, but had quickly learned that the man didn't say much, but when he did it was usually worth listening to.

He also watched Duo, just for the sheer pleasure of watching. It was quite unnecessary for him to be here, so he was a lot more relaxed than normal. Heero thought back over the last few months, and all that had happened to him.

His reaction on duo appearing behind him had been mirrored by the archaeologist's own. The two of them had sat down by the fire and talked solidly for the next five hours. It was weird, Heero thought; he was normally such a reserved person, but with Duo it was different. He trusted Duo. He felt that he would go to the end of the world for Duo, with Duo, and this was what he had done.

It all made a nice arrangement really. His mother's godson, Chang Wufei, had by default become friends with Quatre. Heero and Duo had spent that first night so engrossed in their own conversation that they didn't even have the time to feel guilty about this, but the other two had much in common. That's where they'd be now, he expected, in a local library or museum together.

Duo got up and came to greet Heero, whom he'd just noticed. Wrapping his arms around the other man, duo felt home. He felt safe. All that he'd longed for for so long was here. Since they'd met, in both men's lives, the sun had finally come out. They were happier than either of them had ever thought they would be, and fortune smiled down on them. Taking Heero's hand in his own, duo felt the antique ring on his finger and smiled. He was home.

--ooOoo--

So there we go. Nice and short is better for my health I think. But it doesn't matter for a while; it's over until the summer. Please review, I'll love you forever

LaVerne x


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